February 24, 2011

PCP: Solidarity with the struggles of the Arab world

On the situation in the Arab world

Statement by the Portuguese Communist Party Press Office

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Portuguese Communist Party expresses its solidarity with the struggles and the popular uprisings in various countries of the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Middle East, for employment, for better living standards, for social and labour rights, for freedom and democracy.

The PCP reaffirms its solidarity with the democratic, progressive and revolutionary forces which for decades resisted the oppression by regimes supported by the USA and the European Union and by organizations such as the Socialist International, and which are now integrating broad movements of popular struggle which - if their legitimate aspirations are fulfilled – will mark significant democratic advances in the Arab world and important defeats for the strategy of imperialist domination in North Africa and the Middle East.

While valuing the victories achieved by the Tunisian and Egyptian peoples, with the toppling of the dictators, the PCP warns against the dangers and attempts to condition and reverse the advances that the mass struggle has so far achieved. The PCP reaffirms the importance of intensifying the solidarity with the peoples' demands, such as the departure of all those who were linked to the oppressive regimes, profound changes on the economic, social and political levels and an end to foreign interference and submission to the interests of the imperialist powers.

The PCP condemns the repressions taking place in countries such as Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. The PCP calls for a peaceful solution to the domestic conflict in Libya and draws attention to the dangers which, in the context of a serious domestic situation, arise for this country's independence and territorial integrity, warning against the manoeuvres that are being undertaken by the USA, European Union and NATO, which illustrate the double standards of their policies and which are deeply disturbing as regards the risks of a foreign intervention in that country.

Confronted with the popular uprisings, and faced with a real threat to its interests, imperialism seeks to retake the initiative with a view to guaranteeing its domination of this region, safeguarding its profound links and the political, economic and military support for regimes that are subservient to it and with whom it may continue to share the exploitation of the Arab peoples and the control over immense energy resources.

The important events that are taking place in various Arab countries cannot be separated from the long history of interference and aggression by the USA and the big capitalist powers of the EU. The PCP denounces the profound hypocrisy and cynicism of the USA and the EU which, while clamouring for the respect for human rights and the peoples' rights, seek to conceal the fact that they are chiefly responsible for the most serious violations and disrespect for those rights, through their support and profound ties with the oppressive regimes that are its allies in the region, and for years of interference, strong military presence, aggression and war against Arab peoples, whether in Palestine, Lebanon or Iraq.

Contrarily to what the orchestrated campaign of disinformation seeks to portray, the USA and EU are not concerned with the respect for human rights or the legitimate aspirations and rights of Arab peoples. In fact, the recent veto by the Obama Administration in the United Nations Security Council vote on a draft resolution demanding an end to the construction of new Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories under occupation since 1967, has once again exposed the US Administration, laying bare its support for the colonialist and genocidal policies of the Government of Israel, which is its accomplice in the plans for domination of the Middle East.